Uber Makes Its Case In Connecticut

Ridesharing service tells Connecticut lawmakers it would welcome “reasonable” regulations

HARTFORD — As state officials await a report about Internet-based ride-sharing companies in Connecticut, Uber representatives are saying they wouldn't object to "reasonable" regulations.

Company spokeswoman Nicole Benincasa also told the General Assembly's transportation committee that Uber would accept requirements to have its drivers' vehicles inspected regularly.

"We're happy to have that requirement," she told lawmakers at an informational hearing last week.

The ride-sharing company has clashed with numerous states and cities in recent years as its business has expanded across the country, challenging traditional taxi and livery companies. It wasn't a force in Connecticut until last April, but now operates in Fairfield, New Haven, New London and Hartford counties.

Lawmakers during this legislative session want to determine what rules should apply to Uber, from insurance requirements and vehicle inspections to driver background checks. Owners of traditional cab companies say Uber has to be held to standards so that there's a level playing field in the industry; if taxis are subject to extensive and expensive licensing regulations, then Uber shouldn't be allowed to skirt those rules just because its business model is different, cab companies say.

Uber makes the case that it already meets standards set by other states and communities, and is offering a useful service to Connecticut residents and visitors.

"I see Uber as another emerging technology that's moving faster than the traditional markets can keep up with," Sen. Carlo Leone, D-Stamford, said at the hearing. "It's causing lots of concern. We as a state are trying to figure out what the rules should be for Uber."

Leone said lawmakers are looking for a system that protects the traveling public and doesn't "trample on other industries already in the state."

Legislators are awaiting a detailed report into Uber's operations in the state and how it functions elsewhere. Meanwhile, they asked Benincasa more than an hour's worth of questions with mixed results.

She seemed to earn some nods of agreement when she said the company would be agreeable to having its drivers' vehicles undergo mandatory safety inspections, saying "we'd welcome that requirement."

But when she twice said she didn't know if the company has paid taxes to Connecticut, at least one legislator was openly dissatisfied with her answer, pointing out that she was accompanied by a small squad of lobbyists — and had time to prepare for the hearing and the issues likely to be raised. She promised to supply the answer later.

Uber contracts with individual motorists to provide rides to customers. The drivers must undergo background checks that search back seven years, and must own legally insured and registered cars no older than 10 years. They go on "duty" by activating an app on their smartphones, and are given trips based on where they are at the moment. Customers also use an Uber app to request a trip, and then view an estimated cost along with a photo and first name of the driver along with a description of the car and its license plate number.

Uber carries a $1 million liability policy that covers drivers and riders starting with the time the driver signals acceptance of the trip assignment, Benincasa said. Uber's drivers own their vehicles, and the company and drivers divide the income from each trip.

Uber and the similar Lyft Inc. are being sued by taxi companies in Connecticut and in many other communities in the country.

Uber has expanded dramatically and operates in more than four dozen countries, but has been involved in controversies. A young woman in India charged that an Uber driver raped her, and the company's operation in that country recently agreed to install a "panic button" feature on its app for customers. Last fall, a senior Uber executive mused to people gathered at a party about the idea of waging an expensive smear campaign against a journalist who'd written a story critical of the company.